Quality of virtual colonoscopy in patients who have undergone radiation therapy or surgery: how successful are we? Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • OBJECTIVE: In patients who have a history of abdominopelvic radiation, surgery, or both, conventional colonoscopy may fail to examine the entire colon. The purpose of this study is to assess whether high-quality virtual colonoscopy can be achieved in this patient population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After colonic cleansing, 61 patients (16 men and 45 women; mean age, 64 years; age range, 27-81 years) underwent 63 virtual colonoscopy examinations after using either single- or multidetector CT (slice thickness, 3.75-5.0 mm; table speed, 1.7-11.25 cm/sec; pitch, 1.5-3.0; and overlapped reconstructions, 1.95-2.5 cm) in supine and prone positions after IV administration of 1 mg of glucagon and rectal air insufflation. Conventional two-dimensional axial images were analyzed on a PACS (picture archiving and communication system) workstation. Two radiologists, who were unaware of patient history, independently evaluated the colonic distention on a 4-point scale (4 = optimal distention) and fluid retention on a 3-point scale (3 = no fluid) for all segments of the colon in patients who were imaged in both the supine and prone positions. Segmental and total average colon scores were calculated. RESULTS: Forty-one patients (65%; 43 examinations, 67%) underwent prior surgery, radiation, or both (surgery, n = 29; radiation, n = 3; both, n = 11). The average overall colonic distention and fluid retention for this group was 3.13 and 2.38, respectively, versus 3.24 and 2.3 in the control group (p = not significant). CONCLUSION: High-quality examinations were achieved in patients who had previously undergone radiation, surgery, or both with no clinically significant difference in distention or fluid retention compared with the controls.

publication date

  • May 1, 2002

Research

keywords

  • Abdomen
  • Abdominal Neoplasms
  • Colonic Neoplasms
  • Colonography, Computed Tomographic
  • Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted
  • Pelvic Neoplasms
  • Pelvis

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 0036109050

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.2214/ajr.178.5.1781109

PubMed ID

  • 11959711

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 178

issue

  • 5